Oct 17, 2026 · 48 min · 29 segments
A teenage girl, a major cocaine operation, and seven years in federal prison. Jennifer Fessler sits down with Denise Trigo Fleming, author of *Dealing*: *Memoirs of a Cocaine Teenpin*, to explore how…
Jennifer FesslerHostDenise Trigo FlemingGuest
So what happens when a teenager from Southern California finds herself at the center of a major cocaine operation? For Denise Trigo Fleming, it eventually meant seven years in a federal prison.
Now in her memoir, Dealing, she looks back at the choices, relationships, and losses that led her there.
There's so much in it that is frightening, um, terrifying, so, so very sad, so tragic.
And then in the end, I, I found it sort of uplifting and, and really about resiliency.
First tell me, if you would, what was it that sort of, um, y- how did you come to the point where you thought, "I'm gonna write about it.
I think inside prison, you know, you obviously have a lot of time to reflect, so I was like, "Did that really happen? Like, that story's so crazy," you know? And so I was kind of journaling.
Um, when I got out, obviously it's, you know, hit the ground running, um, which I thought was, you know, the finish line wasn't.
I learned that it was obviously the beginning to, like, creating a whole new life.
So I was obviously busy, but I kept writing, like, little bits of stories that happened, and then at some point I was like, "Maybe I should put it in chronological order, and maybe I should, you know, develop characters, and then what's the narrative arc?" So it really was a big process and also a labor of love.
So what happens when a teenager from Southern California finds herself at the center of a major cocaine operation? For Denise Trigo Fleming, it eventually meant seven years in a federal prison.
Now in her memoir, Dealing, she looks back at the choices, relationships, and losses that led her there.
There's so much in it that is frightening, um, terrifying, so, so very sad, so tragic.
And then in the end, I, I found it sort of uplifting and, and really about resiliency.
First tell me, if you would, what was it that sort of, um, y- how did you come to the point where you thought, "I'm gonna write about it.
I think inside prison, you know, you obviously have a lot of time to reflect, so I was like, "Did that really happen? Like, that story's so crazy," you know? And so I was kind of journaling.
Um, when I got out, obviously it's, you know, hit the ground running, um, which I thought was, you know, the finish line wasn't.
I learned that it was obviously the beginning to, like, creating a whole new life.
So I was obviously busy, but I kept writing, like, little bits of stories that happened, and then at some point I was like, "Maybe I should put it in chronological order, and maybe I should, you know, develop characters, and then what's the narrative arc?" So it really was a big process and also a labor of love.
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